books.google.com.au - Set among the upper classes in the gracious, repressive and complex world of 1920s Ceylon (Sri Lanka), this evocative novel tells the story of two people who must determine if it is possible to pursue personal happiness without compromising the happiness of others. A young teacher, Annalukshmi, whose...https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Cinnamon_Gardens.html?id=qALc6zsB9R4C&utm_source=gb-gplus-shareCinnamon Gardens

Cinnamon Gardens

Set among the upper classes in the gracious, repressive and complex world of 1920s Ceylon (Sri Lanka), this evocative novel tells the story of two people who must determine if it is possible to pursue personal happiness without compromising the happiness of others. A young teacher, Annalukshmi, whose splintered family attempts to arrange an appropriate marriage for her, must decide whether the independence she craves will doom her to a life without love and companionship. It is also the story of Balendran who, respectably married, must suppress-or confront-the secret desires for men that threaten to throw his life into chaos. With sensuous atmosphere and vivid prose, this masterfully plotted novel re-creates a world where a beautiful veneer of fragrant gardens and manners hides social, personal, and political issues still relevant today.

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Review: Cinnamon Gardens

User Review - Steve Woods - Goodreads

Well wriiten account of the intricaate workings of an upper class Ceyonese family at the turn of thr 20th century. A pleasnat enough read offering much insight into colonila Ceylonese society at the ...Read full review

Review: Cinnamon Gardens

User Review - Ibrahim - Goodreads

Cinnamon Gardens ends off in a beautiful way just showing how powerful people whom we are surrounded by impact our lives and how through them we become a better person. I empathized with many of the ...Read full review

About the author (2000)

Shyam Selvadurai is a novelist and writer for television. He was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1965. Selvadurai earned a B.F.A. in creative writing from York University. Selvadurai has written for the Canadian television shows Many Voices and Inside Voices and contributed to several journals and anthologies. Selvadurai's first novel, Funny Boy, was nominated for the Giller Prize and received the W.H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award. It also earned the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men's Fiction.